Glass material and method for manufacturing same

ABSTRACT

Provided is a glass composition that exhibits greater Faraday effect than ever before. A glass composition contains 48% or more of Tb 2 O 3  (exclusive of 48%) in % by mole.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a glass material suitable for amagneto-optical element making up part of a magnetic device, such as anoptical isolator, an optical circulator or a magnetic sensor, and amethod for manufacturing the same.

BACKGROUND ART

A glass material containing terbium oxide which is a paramagneticcompound is known to exhibit the Faraday effect which is one ofmagneto-optical effects. The Faraday effect is an effect of rotating thepolarization plane of linearly polarized light passing through amaterial placed in a magnetic field. This effect is utilized in opticalisolators, magnetic field sensors, and so on.

The optical rotation θ (angle of rotation of the polarization plane) dueto the Faraday effect is expressed by the following formula where theintensity of a magnetic field is represented by H and the length of asubstance through which polarized light passes is represented by L. Inthe formula, V represents a constant dependent on the type of thesubstance and is referred to as a Verdet constant. The Verdet constanttakes positive values for diamagnetic substances and negative values forparamagnetic substances. The larger the absolute value of the Verdetconstant, the larger the absolute value of the optical rotation,resulting in exhibition of greater Faraday effect.θ=VHL

Conventionally known glass materials exhibiting the Faraday effectinclude SiO₂—B₂O₃—Al₂O₃—Tb₂O₃-based glass materials (see PatentLiterature 1), P₂O₅—B₂O₃—Tb₂O₃-based glass materials (see PatentLiterature 2), and P₂O₅—TbF₃—RF₂— (where R represents an alkaline earthmetal) based glass materials (see Patent Literature 3).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1]

Examined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. S51-46524

[PTL 2]

Examined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. S52-32881

[PTL 3]

Examined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. S55-42942

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Although the above glass materials exhibit some degree of Faradayeffect, recent increasing size reduction of magnetic devices requiresfurther improvement of the Faraday effect so that even a small membercan exhibit a sufficient optical rotation.

In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is toprovide a glass material exhibiting greater Faraday effect than everbefore.

Solution to Problem

A glass material of the present invention contains 48% or more of Tb₂O₃(exclusive of 48%) in % by mole. Since the glass material of the presentinvention contains a large amount of Tb₂O₃ as described above, theabsolute value of the Verdet constant becomes large. As a result, theglass material exhibits greater Faraday effect than ever before. A glassmaterial containing a large amount of Tb₂O₃ as described above isgenerally difficult to vitrify. However, a containerless levitationtechnique as will be described later enables even such a compositiondifficult to vitrify to be easily vitrified.

The glass material of the present invention preferably has a Tb₂O₃content of not more than 80% by mole. When the Tb₂O₃ content is in thisrange, the glass material can be relatively easily vitrified.

The glass material of the present invention preferably further contains,in % by mole, 0 to 50% SiO₂, 0 to 50% B₂O₃, 0 to 50% Al₂O₃, and 0 to 50%P₂O₅. Because SiO₂, B₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and P₂O₅ are components for forming aglass network, incorporation of these components into the glass materialenables the glass material to be relatively easily vitrified.

The glass material of the present invention can be used as amagneto-optical element. For example, the glass material of the presentinvention can be used as a Faraday rotator which is a type ofmagneto-optical element. The use of the glass material for the aboveapplication enables the glass material to be given the effect of thepresent invention.

A method for manufacturing a glass material of the present invention isa method for manufacturing the glass material described above andincludes the step of heating a block of glass raw material to meltingwhile holding the block of glass raw material levitated, thus obtaininga molten glass, and then cooling the molten glass.

Generally, a glass material is produced by melting a row material in amelting container, such as a crucible, and then cooling it (meltingmethod). However, the glass material of the present invention has, asdescribed above, a composition containing a large amount of Tb₂O₃fundamentally not forming a glass network and is therefore a lessvitrifiable material, which may present a problem that the use of themelting method would result in progression of crystallizationoriginating on the contact interface with the melting container.

Even if the glass material has a less vitrifiable composition,vitrification thereof can be achieved by eliminating contact at theinterface with the melting container. As such a technique, acontainerless levitation technique is known in which a raw material ismelted and cooled while held levitated. With the use of this technique,the molten glass is substantially kept out of contact with the meltingcontainer, so that crystallization originating on the interface with themelting container can be prevented and the glass material can be thusvitrified.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a glassmaterial exhibiting greater Faraday effect than ever before.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of anapparatus for producing a glass material of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The glass material of the present invention contains, in % by mole, 48%or more of Tb₂O₃ (exclusive of 48%), preferably 49% or more of Tb₂O₃,and particularly preferably 50% or more of Tb₂O₃. If the Tb₂O₃ contentis too small, the absolute value of the Verdet constant becomes small,so that sufficient Faraday effect is less likely to be achieved. On theother hand, if the Tb₂O₃ content is too large, the glass material tendsto be difficult to vitrify. Therefore, the Tb₂O₃ content is preferablynot more than 80%, more preferably not more than 75%, and particularlypreferably not more than 70%.

In relation to Tb, the content of its trivalent oxide has been definedabove, but, as for its oxides other than the trivalent oxide, theircontent when converted to the trivalent oxide is preferably in the aboverange.

The magnetic moment from which the Verdet constant of Tb is derived isgreater in Tb³⁺ than in Tb⁴⁺. A larger percentage of Tb³⁺ in the glassmaterial is more preferable because the Faraday effect becomes greater.Specifically, the percentage of Tb³⁺ in the total content of Tb is, in %by mole, preferably 50% or more, more preferably 60% or more, still morepreferably 70% or more, yet more preferably 80% or more, andparticularly preferably 90% or more.

The glass material of the present invention may contain, in addition toTb₂O₃, the following various types of components. In the followingdescription of the contents of components, “%” refers to “% by mole”unless otherwise specified.

SiO₂, B₂O₃, and P₂O₅ are components for forming a glass network andwidening the vitrification range. However, these components do notcontribute to increase in the Verdet constant. Therefore, if the contentof these components is too large, sufficient Faraday effect is lesslikely to be achieved. Hence, the content of each of SiO₂, B₂O₃, andP₂O₅ is preferably 0 to 50%, more preferably 1 to 45%, and particularlypreferably 2 to 40%. Furthermore, the total amount of SiO₂ and B₂O₃ ispreferably 0 to 52%, more preferably 15 to 51%, and particularlypreferably 20 to 50%. The total amount of B₂O₃ and P₂O₅ is preferably 0to 52%, more preferably 15 to 51%, and particularly preferably 20 to50%. The total amount of SiO₂, B₂O₃, and P₂O₅ is preferably 0 to 52%,more preferably 15 to 51%, and particularly preferably 20 to 50%.

Al₂O₃ is a component for forming a glass network as an intermediateoxide and widening the vitrification range. However, Al₂O₃ does notcontribute to increase in the Verdet constant. Therefore, if its contentis too large, sufficient Faraday effect is less likely to be achieved.Hence, the Al₂O₃ content is preferably 0 to 50%, more preferably 0.1 to40%, still more preferably 1 to 30%, yet more preferably 1 to 20%, andparticularly preferably 1 to 10%.

La₂O₃, Gd₂O₃, Yb₂O₃, and Y₂O₃ have the effect of stabilizing glass, butan excessive large content thereof contrariwise makes the glass materialless likely to be vitrified. Therefore, the content of each of La₂O₃,Gd₂O₃, Yb₂O₃, and Y₂O₃ is preferably 10% or less and particularlypreferably 5% or less.

Dy₂O₃, Eu₂O₃, and Ce₂O₃ stabilize glass and contributes to increase inthe Verdet constant. However, an excessive large content thereofcontrariwise makes the glass material less likely to be vitrified.Therefore, the content of each of Dy₂O₃, Eu₂O₃, and Ce₂O₃ is preferably15% or less and particularly preferably 10% or less. In relation to Dy,Eu, and Ce, the contents of their trivalent oxides have been definedabove, but, as for their oxides (for example, CeO₂) other than trivalentoxides, their contents when converted to the trivalent oxides arepreferably in the above range.

MgO, CaO, SrO, and BaO have the effect of increasing the stability andchemical durability of glass. However, these components do notcontribute to increase in the Verdet constant. Therefore, if the contentof them is too large, sufficient Faraday effect is less likely to beachieved. Hence, the content of each of these component is preferably 0to 10% and particularly preferably 0 to 5%.

Ga₂O₃ has the effect of increasing the glass formation ability andwidening the vitrification range. However, an excessive large contentthereof makes the resultant glass likely to be devitrified. Furthermore,Ga₂O₃ does not contribute to increase in the Verdet constant. Therefore,if its content is too large, sufficient Faraday effect is less likely tobe achieved. Hence, the Ga₂O₃ content is preferably 0 to 6% andparticularly preferably 0 to 5%.

Fluorine has the effect of increasing the glass formation ability andwidening the vitrification range. However, if its content is too large,fluorine volatilizes during melting, which may vary the glasscomposition or may have an influence on the stability of glass.Therefore, the fluorine content (in terms of F₂) is preferably 0 to 10%,more preferably 0 to 7%, and still more preferably 0 to 5%.

Sb₂O₃ may be added as a reductant. However, in order to avoid colorationor in consideration of environmental burden, the Sb₂O₃ content ispreferably 0.1% or less.

The glass material of the present invention preferably has a lighttransmission loss as small as possible, particularly when used as amagneto-optical element, such as an isolator. Therefore, the glassmaterial of the present invention has alight transmittance of preferably50% or more, more preferably 60% or more, and particularly preferably70% or more at a wavelength of 633 nm.

The glass material of the present invention can be produced, forexample, by a containerless levitation technique. FIG. 1 is a schematiccross-sectional view showing an example of an apparatus formanufacturing a glass material by a containerless levitation technique.Hereinafter, a description will be given of a method for manufacturing aglass material of the present invention with reference to FIG. 1.

The apparatus 1 for manufacturing a glass material includes a formingdie 10. The forming die 10 also serves as a melting container. Theforming die 10 includes a forming surface 10 a and a plurality of gasjet holes 10 b opening on the forming surface 10 a. The gas jet holes 10b are connected to a gas supply mechanism 11, such as a compressed gascylinder. Gas is supplied from this gas supply mechanism 11 via the gasjet holes 10 b to the forming surface 10 a. No particular limitation isplaced on the type of the gas and the gas may be, for example, air oroxygen or may be nitrogen gas, argon gas, helium gas, carbon monoxidegas, carbon dioxide gas or hydrogen-containing reducing gas.

In manufacturing a glass material using the manufacturing apparatus 1,first, a block 12 of glass raw material is placed on the forming surface10 a. Examples of the block 12 of glass raw material include a bodyobtained by forming raw material powders into a single piece by pressforming or other processes, a sintered body obtained by forming rawmaterial powders into a single piece by press forming or other processesand then sintering the single piece, and an aggregate of crystals havingthe same composition as a desired glass composition.

Next, gas is jetted out through the gas jet holes 10 b, thus levitatingthe block 12 of glass raw material above the forming surface 10 a. Inother words, the block 12 of glass raw material is held out of contactwith the forming surface 10 a. In this state, the block 12 of glass rawmaterial is irradiated with laser light from a laser light applicator13. Thus, the block 12 of glass raw material is heated to melting tomake it vitrifiable, thereby obtaining a molten glass. Thereafter, themolten glass is cooled, so that a glass material can be obtained. Duringthe step of heating the block 12 of glass raw material to melting andthe step of cooling the molten glass and in turn the glass material atleast to below the softening point, at least the jetting of gas ispreferably continued to restrain the contact of the block 12 of glassraw material, the molten glass, and finally the glass material with theforming surface 10 a. The block 12 of glass raw material may belevitated above the forming surface 10 a using a magnetic forcegenerated by applying a magnetic field. Furthermore, the method forheating the block of glass raw material to melting may be radiationheating besides the method of irradiating it with laser light.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be described below with reference to examplesbut the present invention is not at all limited by the followingexamples.

Table 1 shows examples of the present invention and comparativeexamples.

TABLE 1 Comp. Ex. Ex. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 Glass Composition Tb₂O₃ 50 60 6050 50 60 80 30 (% by mole) Al₂O₃ 20 5 10 20 5 20 B₂O₃ 30 35 25 20 20 3517.5 P₂O₅ 5 20 SiO₂ 5 5 10 2.5 50 Verdet Constant 633 nm −0.69 −0.80−0.79 −0.69 −0.70 −0.79 −1.04 −0.37 (min/Oe · cm) 850 nm −0.34 −0.40−0.39 −0.34 −0.35 −0.39 −0.52 −0.18

Each sample was prepared in the following manner. First, raw materialsformulated to have a glass composition indicated in the table werepress-formed and sintered at 1100 to 1400° C. for 12 hours, thusproducing a block of glass raw material.

Next, the block of glass raw material was coarsely ground into 0.05 to0.5 g small pieces. Using the obtained small piece of the block of glassraw material, a glass material (with a diameter of approximately 1 to 8mm) was produced by a containerless levitation technique using anapparatus conforming to FIG. 1. A 100 W CO₂ laser oscillator was used asa heat source. Furthermore, nitrogen gas was used as a gas forlevitating the block of raw material and supplied at a flow rate of 1 to30 L/min.

The obtained glass material was measured in terms of the Verdet constantusing a Kerr effect measuring system (manufactured by JASCO Corporation,Model K-250). Specifically, the obtained glass material was polished tohave a thickness of about 1 mm and measured in terms of angle of Faradayrotation at a wavelength of 400 to 850 nm in a magnetic field of 15 kOeand the Verdet constants thereof at wavelengths of 633 nm and 850 nmwere calculated. The wavelength sweep speed was 6 nm/min. The resultsare shown in Table 1.

As is obvious from Table 1, the glass materials of Examples 1 to 7exhibited Verdet constants of −0.69 to −1.04 at a wavelength of 633 nmand Verdet constants of −0.34 to −0.52 at a wavelength of 850 nm. On theother hand, the Verdet constants of the glass material of ComparativeExample 1 were −0.37 at a wavelength of 633 nm and −0.18 at a wavelengthof 850 nm, the absolute values of which were small.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The glass material of the present invention is suitable as amagneto-optical element making up part of a magnetic device, such as anoptical isolator, an optical circulator or a magnetic sensor.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1: apparatus for manufacturing a glass material    -   10: forming die    -   10 a: forming surface    -   10 b: gas jet hole    -   11: gas supply mechanism    -   12: block of glass raw material    -   13: laser light applicator

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing a glass materialcontaining more than 48% of Tb₂O₃, 0 to 40% Al₂O₃, less than 5% Ga₂O₃,and 2 to 50% B₂O₃ in % by mole of a total glass composition and beingused as a Faraday rotator, the method comprising the step of heating ablock of glass raw material to melting while holding the block of glassraw material levitated, thus obtaining a molten glass, and then coolingthe molten glass.
 2. The method for manufacturing the glass materialaccording to claim 1, wherein the glass material contains not more than80% by mole of Tb₂O₃.
 3. The method for manufacturing the glass materialaccording to claim 1, wherein the glass material contains, in % by mole,50 to 80% Tb₂O₃, 0 to 50% SiO₂, 0 to 40% Al₂O₃, less than 5% Ga₂O₃, 2 to50% B₂O₃, and 0 to 50% P₂O₅.